Originally Posted By GalDisney I am a Photopass Photographer. Just an entry level position now but I plan on having a "real" job with them eventually lol
Originally Posted By disney pete another question i have for CM's do you get moved around parks as i thought we seen a guy in AK ONE DAY and a few days later at epcot?
Originally Posted By Hack2112 ^ CMs can pick up extra shifts at other attractions in other parks if they have been trained for them, so he could have been doing that.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Are there any attractions where the training qualifies you to work on another attraction? I feel like if you know how to operate Dumbo, you can probably handle the Triceratops Spin too, but would you need extra training for that?
Originally Posted By sjhym33 No, you have to be trained specifically for each attraction and pass the assessment test. It is not only about how an attraction operates but safety procedures, evacuation procedures, park evac plans, etc.
Originally Posted By -em < famous for being found in different locations... I've picked up shifts at all parks so depending on the day you could have found me- Selling squeeze breezes at Epcot, directing guests at Fantasmic, Selling strollers at DAK and passing out candy at MK to name a few- -em
Originally Posted By vbdad55 I am a Photopass Photographer. Just an entry level position now but I plan on having a "real" job with them eventually lol a valuable position to me and my family who on certain days decide NOT to carry a camera.....a good photopass CM is a pleasure to deal with and provides a good service..thank you
Originally Posted By mousermerf Looks like we're heading toward an operational sort of role within a park... Things to know: 1. You get hired to an attraction/area. You will be trained on that and stay there. It may include other attractions (eventually), but you will certainly spend the vast majority of your time at a single location. 2. Extra hours shifts are available for pick up, but you need to be trained - that usually means you did a company transfer and still are qualified to operate or do a position. Like you worked in Foods and moved to Attractions. No training shifts are rare and hard to get - and further, not easy if they're not in your particular park. 3. Some no training shifts suck - like MK crowd control. 4. You do something incredibly boring for about ~2 hours then do something else, equally boring, for 2 hours, take lunch, lather rinse repeat. Think - load people into small world boats for 2 hours. Walk Peter Pan's belt and load for an hour. Greet people entering Philharmagic for an hour or two. Think fo each person you see in the park, and imagine not moving from that spot for a few hours. Things have improve since they first implemented the deployment system, but you will undoubtedly stay put in the same position for a few hours at some point. Are you willing to do that? Just think of every little bit of your WDW vacation in minutia. Checking in? Do that for 8 hours a day. Riding the bus? 8 hour shifts - yup. Butterfly Garden at Epcot? Yup, even 8 hours of that (I've done that, it's not so bad, boring but not so bad.) In an attraction you do about 3-4 positions you cycle through, but you really never leave the same building all day. All your tasks are rather mundane if the ride is working, and if it's not - well, many people cry before/after/during their first major ride evac. It's stressful. Consider all that, think about the job realistically.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 I couldnt have said it any better. The problem is that you can tell people that but it is hard for most people to grasp that reality. Most people will tell you "It would be great to stand in the Butterfly garden all day...its Disney World!" I cant tell you how many trainees I have had who don't return after one day or go thru the entire training, assess, then are never heard from again. I had one trainiee who stood at the attraction with eyes as big as saucers and kept saying "that is a lot of people." By the end of the second day he was white as a ghost. He couldnt handle the amount of people, the number of questions, the constant interaction plus the knowledge that if you dont pay attention you can kill someone. He spent the next 3 months at a merchandise cart before quitting.
Originally Posted By mousermerf Also - do not work in attractions if you cannot handle vomit, urine, diapers, other bodily fluids, and would freeze up in an emergency in which you needed to call 911. You will, in attractions, at some point need to call 911. From the fire alarm going off to a broken arm to something far far worse - it happens.
Originally Posted By Tink34 Ok so those are some attraction nightmare stories. But I mean those detailed things only come with attractions. Does anyone know what job position or name of job the people in the blue vests in the MK that come out before parades and the do crowd control during and afterwards?? Id love to be on the team that wears black and walks along Spectro. Maybe even monorail lol
Originally Posted By Hack2112 Also, certain CMs can apply to be an Adventure Guide for ABD. Not only do CMs get a change of pace, but they get to visit some great places. (over and over and over again)
Originally Posted By sjhym33 The role of crowd control for parades includes CM's from attractions as well as people scheduled for parade crowd control. My least favorite job I ever worked at WDW. Some people love it. They love being a part of the excitement of the parade. But I found it to be miserable. You deal with angry guests who got a place on the curb at 7:30pm to have a group plop themselves in front of them 10 mins before the parade. In all my years at Disney I saw more fights at crowd control than any role I have ever had. You deal with people stopping in crosswalks who get angry when you tell them they cant stand there or the people who show up 5 mins before parade and want to know why they cant find a spot and people then the people who pass out from the heat. One night a guest stood on a railing and put their hands on a post that supported a popcorn stand roof. When he slipped off the railing his ring got stuck on something and it tore his entire finger off its bone just before the parade came by. Both he and I were covered with blood as I tried to control the bleeding. The fun part is when the parade passes by. That is the saving grace for the evening. It is always magical. I am really not trying to sound negative about working at WDW but I think people should know the reality of the job. I have worked all 4 parks and in a transportation area. I spent 2 years in Imagineering. I have had wonderful experiences that few people ever get to have. I spent extended time with some celebrities and was involved in opening several new attractions over the years. I opened 3 parks. I was lucky to be there at the end of the Walt era. I worked for a VP who knew Walt Disney and would stop in my office and share Walt stories and I was there for the major expansion of the resort which allowed me untold opportunities. Having said that...it is a very different company today. I could give a long post telling you how much it is different than when I started and probably could count less than a handful of things that are better for the changes. The most important thing to remember is that Disney is a business and is treated like such. Managers hardly know any of the CM's because they have too much paper pushing to do and everything is computerized. You could conceivably not see a manager for weeks on end. Guests today seem more angry and rude than ever before. I am not sure why though I expect that it has to do with the money being spent by them and the crowds. There are 65,000 CM's at WDW so there are a lot of opportunities, though the average CM lasts less than 5 years I would say.
Originally Posted By mousegeezer So, what can a guest do for you when they are in the parks that will make you smile? Do we just thank you for being there?
Originally Posted By sjhym33 The majority of the guests are very friendly. It is great when people say hi and ask how your day is going. You tend to remember the mean people or the accidents, but there are great guests that you also remember. There was an older gentlemen that I used to see 2 or 3 times a week. We just seemed to run into each other for a couple of weeks running. He always wore the same hat. One day I said to him "You must really like it here, I see you all the time." He said to me "My wife and I used to come here all the time. She died last year after 50 years of marriage. I come out here all the time because it makes me feel close to her." How do you not remember that? It is not just the guests though. I have seen CM's be rude or dismissive of guests. Some CM's use the little power they have (you cant ride up front, you cant do that, I am sorry thats our policy kind of stuff) to be mean to guests. The whole time they smile. For some it is a way to get back at guests. For some it is simply that they dont care. You see that alot in the younger CM's and surprising in some of the older CM's who just seem surly.
Originally Posted By mousermerf If i remember correctly, much of the blue-vest crowd control is Guest Relations (blue vest) and Railroad (black vest). Neither of those jobs is what i'd consider low-stress. The parade is probably the least stressful part of their day.
Originally Posted By mousegeezer Well, I can certainly say that CM's have never been rude to my family at the parks. We also tend to go when the parks are least crowded. I hope that when I am there I see you and have the opportunity to thank you. So far all of my visits have been magical. In my job I am the one that has to say no to our clients. I understand that there are rules and sometimes they get angry. But, we both know that it is usually for their own good.
Originally Posted By GalDisney <<a valuable position to me and my family who on certain days decide NOT to carry a camera.....a good photopass CM is a pleasure to deal with and provides a good service..thank you..>> Thanks, VbDad, glad you enjoy Disney'sPhotopass. And, thank you for the appreciaation. I, as a PP CM appreciate the acknowledgement.
